If you agree, and reside in NYS, then you will want to join Coalition For Informed Choice (CFIC). For that statement is the baseline conviction of all those who want true informed consent. CFIC has assisted thousands of its members in obtaining religious exemptions for school, and to refrain from vaccination for their children in a safe manner---both medically and legally.

Founded in 1994, Coalition For Informed Choice (CFIC) is a free-to-join, non-partisan, statewide (NY only) coalition that includes parents, doctors, lawyers, teachers, college students and organizations. CFIC is the prime clearing house for all aspects involving resistance to vaccine mandates in NYS, through assisting individuals with the sometimes complex hurdles to obtain a religious waiver from the school vaccine requirements, and through formation of local and regional parent groups to lobby for CFIC's legislation to remove the restrictions in the exemption provisions in NYS law.

The views of our members comprise a wide spectrum of thought—from those who accept the general efficacy of vaccination, to those who reject it entirely. But all believe that "Informed Consent" implies a right to withhold consent.

Services For Members Include:

(1) Assistance in obtaining school exemptions from vaccination in NYS.

(2) Referrals to local pediatricians who respect parents' refusal to vaccinate.

(3) CFIC will negotiate or litigate on parent's behalf if they're denied the waiver.

(4) Parents may join local chapters of CFIC in their own areas of the state, to help enact our bills.

(5) Assistance to parents who become entangled with children's protective services.

Each year since 2002, CFIC's legislation has been introduced in the State Senate and Assembly.

The bills are summarized as follows:

Bill#1: Permits private physician's certification for the medical exemption to prevail over Dept. of Health veto.

Bill#2: Removes the "genuine and sincere" religious test used to screen applicants for the religious exemption.

Bill#3: Enacts a "philosophical exemption" that merely requires the parent to state an objection to vaccination.

Vaccination Exemptions:

For parents wishing to obtain religious exemptions from vaccination: CFIC provides parents with a comprehensive tutorial on what's involved in applying for religious waivers. You learn the basic elements that should be included in a religious statement. Common questions are answered, especially those which NYSED doesn't address.

In addition, CFIC provides extensive tutorials for parents to protect themselves from the legal risks of not vaccinating their children; what to do when your child becomes ill with an inflammatory ("infectious") disease, with additional referrals to the best resource material available on the web, and from the free CFIC booklist.

Basic Facts About The Religious Waiver

Vaccination mandates for children residing in NYS apply solely to children enrolled in school, and not to homeschooled children. Public Health Law 21659(1)(a) states: "The term 'school' includes any public, private or parochial, child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school, kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary school."

Parents of any and all religious affiliations and backgrounds may qualify for the waiver---that includes Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. CFIC provides special guidance for adherents of each of these religions. But before a school may approve a religious waiver, all schools (public, daycare centers, preschools, parochial schools, summer camps, etc.) are required to determine that the parent's claimed religious belief is genuinely religious in nature, as opposed to a secular philosophy. The second leg of the test is for the school to be satisfied that the belief is sincerely held. Socalled "sincerity testing" is what CFIC's bill (one of three bills that CFIC has introduced in the state legislature) strikes from the statute. Yet until it's enacted, this "religious test" is the law for all school children in NYS, except homeschooled children.

Over the years, varied by school district, policies and tactics of schools have made it necessary to provide comprehensive guidance for parents---beyond claiming the exemption in its most basic form (i.e. a letter to the school). While not all schools make it difficult for parents, some do, and you may not know when you'll encounter such a school during the time your children go from pre-K and on through college.

Despite the issuance of a standard affidavit by NYSED in 2005, some school districts still require parents to endure lengthy verbal depositions by school attorneys, and/or require parents to answer tricky questionnaires or demand exact facsimiles of their family's medical records. Other schools make parents agree to unacceptable conditions for their unvaccinated child to attend school. CFIC provides critical recommendations to avoid or resist these obstacles. Parents are provided with continually updated information on tactics and methods of responding.

Fortunately, most school districts just require paperwork, with no special agenda to deny the waiver to you. But there's a few which demand that parents submit to depositions or questionnaires that go beyond the standard State Education Dept. Affidavit Form (CFIC supplies all the forms you'll need). These school districts are most likely to deny you the waiver. It is against these school districts, that the CFIC tutorials are essential aids, and for which mistakes must be avoided.

Please do not verbally discuss your religious beliefs with school administrators, until you know what's involved in the process. Burden of proof is on the parent, and too many utterances could be misconstrued. There are many potential pitfalls, and too many things you need to know to ensure success. Also, do not apply for a medical waiver, nor hire an attorney before first consulting with CFIC.

Alliances With Autism Groups:

Several leading autism activists and leaders of autism groups in NYS have joined CFIC. Efforts to organize against each and every separate new vaccine being proposed for school, or to outlaw each and every harmful vaccine ingredient (etc.), are just too great. We lose by attrition, because drug companies can bring more resources to bear in lobbying legislators.

The emerging realization is that protecting susceptible children from assaults on their health through vaccination is best accomplished through a broader, universal approach. Thus, it may be most cost effective to work to enact a philosophical exemption provision, or to amend the religious waiver to terminate sincerity testing.

When this is accomplished, two effects will work in synergy: First, parents in NYS would be fully empowered to exercise genuine "informed consent", which previously never included the power to "withhold consent." With each new vaccine---especially non-essential vaccines---that the legislature mandates for school, there will be more parents making the prudent decision to withhold consent. This would yield the second effect: In order to maintain high vaccination rates, legislators will realize that mandated vaccines must be kept to a minimum. For the first time, normal market forces will prevail, and stay the hand of public health fanaticism and excesses.